Sen. Elizabeth Warren Says Banking Should Be Boring!

Senator Elizabeth Warren wants to make banking boring again. Yesterday, the freshman senator introduced the 21st Century Glass Steagall Act, which would break up the big banks, and rebuild the wall between traditional banking and Wall Street gambling. In a statement, Senator Warren said, “Despite the progress we’ve made since 2008, the biggest banks continue to threaten the economy.”

Senators John McCain and Maria Cantwell, the pair who attempted a similar bill back in 2009, joined Senator Warren as she introduced her new legislation. Of course, taking on the “too-big-to-fail” banks won’t be an easy challenge. Previous attempts to reign in bank size and power were met with huge resistance from the banksters, who railed against proposals to break up the banks.

Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, said the so-called “universal banking system” is the “most important” model there is. He argued that banks “can’t be competitive if [they] can’t provide all those services to [their] customers.” And, JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon has even tried to make the case that “too-big-to-fail” banks are a good thing. Last year, he told the New Yorker magazine, “There are huge benefits to size” and “that’s what capitalism is.” But, Senator Elizabeth Warren isn’t buying any of their talking points.

Since the day she was elected, Senator Warren has worked hard to hold banksters accountable for wrecking our economy, and proposed rules to prevent it from happening again. When she introduced the 21st Century Glass Steagall Act yesterday, she said, “The four biggest banks are now 30% larger than they were just five years ago, and they have continued to engage in dangerous, high-risk practices that could once again put our economy at risk.” We know the banksters won’t give up their power easily, but Senator Elizabeth Warren isn’t backing down without a fight.

One of the most startling trends to come out of the wreckage of the 2007-2008 financial crisis is the explosion of Wall Street firms buying up and renting out property all across the country. This is insane -- it’s a recipe for disaster.

About Thom Hartmann

Thom Hartmann, progressive national and internationally syndicated talkshow host (also simulcast as TV in 40 million homes by Dish Network/Free Speech TV), and New York Times bestselling, 4-times project Censored winning author of 24 books in print in 17 languages on five continents. Leonardo DiCaprio was inspired by Thom's book "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight" to make the movie "The 11th Hour" (in which Thom stars), and Warner Brothers is making a movie starring DiCaprio from the book Thom co-authored with Lamar Waldron, "Legacy of Secrecy."